Rod weeder



Dec. 31, 1963 w. HEINRlcH 13,115,940

Wal/er Heinrich l N VEN TOR.

BY ggfs/' W. HEINRICH Dec. 3l, 1963 ROD WEEDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 5, 1961 s W ehm. ,M W/myj l @www im, wa QW m u B United States Patent (Hice lfif'idd Patented Bec. 3l, 1963 3,115,940 RGD WEEBER Walter Heinrich, Moccasin, Mont. Filed Aug, 3, i961, Ser. No. 129,169 6 Claims. (Ci. 172-44) This invention relates to a novel and useful rod weeder attachment for cultivators and harrows.

Although the rod weeder of the instant invention is illustrated and described herein as being particularly well adapted for use in conjunction with cultivators and harrows of the spring tine-toothed type, the rod weeder may also be used in conjunction with other types of cultivators.

The rod weeder of the instant invention is constructed in a manner whereby a weeder rod is journalled for rotation about a substantially horizontally disposed axis and is mounted for movement between a first rearward upper position and a second downward forward position to the rear of the soil working implements carried by the cultivator to which the rod weeder is secured. The weeder rod is normally resiliently urged toward the second downward and forward position spaced immediately to the rear of the lower portions of the ground working implements carried by the cultivator to which the rod weeder is secured and is mounted in such a manner whereby the rod weeder may be deflected rearwardly and upwardly upon striking an object in the ground being worked which might otherwise cause damage to the rod weeder. The rod weeder is supported from the main frame of the cultivator in a manner whereby the weeder rod is mounted for rearward upward swinging movement independently of the ground working implements carried by the cultivator. ln this manner, the rod weeder need not be constructed rigidly enough to withstand striking all objects which might be embedded in the ground being worked, inasmuch as the weeder rod, upon striking a large rock or similar object may be pivoted rearwardly and upwardly out of engagement of the ground being worked. Accordingly, the construction of the rod weeder need not be extremely heavy thus greatly reducing the cost of manufacture of the rod weeder. Further, inasmuch as the weeder rod is mounted for movement relative to the main frame of the cultivator which supports the soil working implements of the cultivator, the normal operation of the soil working implements is not interfered with upon upward and rearward swinging movement of the weeder rod upon striking an object such as a large rock.

The weeder rod is drivingly connected to a pair of friction wheels which are mounted for movement into and out of engagement with the ground engaging wheels of the cultivator to which the rod weeder is secured. In this manner, the weeder rod is drivingly connected to the ground engaging wheels of the cultivator to which it is secured.

The mounting means for the weeder rod includes means for normally resiliently urging the weeder rod toward a forwardmost and downwardmost ground working position and also includes adjustable stop means for limiting forward and downward movement of the weeder rod. Accordingly, the depth of the weeder rod relative to the depth of the ground engaging implements carried by the cultivator to which the rod weeder is secured may be adjusted as desired.

The main object of this invention is to provide a rod weeder which may be conveniently secured to different types of draft cultivators and mounted thereon whereby the weeder rod of the attachment may be mounted for movement into and out of engagement with the ground being worked independently of movement of the ground working implements carried by the cultivator into and out of engagement with the ground being worked.

A further object of this invention, in accordance with the immediately preceding object, is to provide a rod weeder including means for normally resiliently urging the weeder rod thereof to a lowermost position.

Still another object of this invention, in accordance with the preceding objects, is to provide means whereby the thrust effected by the urging means may be adjusted.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a rod weeder attachment for a cultivator in accordance with the preceding objects and including means for adjustably limiting penetration of the weeder rod of the attachment into the soil being worked.

A iinal object to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide a rod weeder which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble-free in operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FlGURE l is a side elevational view of a conventional type of wheeled cultivator to which the rod weeder of the instant invention is secured;

FGURE 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a rear end elevational view of the embodiment illustrated in FGURE 1 as seen from the left side thereof;

FlGURE 4 is a somewhat enlarged vertical transverse sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 4 4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical transverse sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 5 5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by section line 6 6 of FIGURE 2;

FlGURE 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the lower end of one of the depending supports by which the weeder rod of the rod weeder attachment is rotatably journalled; and

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by section line 8 8 of FIGURE 7.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings the numeral l@ generally designates a conventional type of draft cultivator which includes a main frame generally referred to by reference numeral l2 having a drawbar forward end portion 1d adapted for securement to a draft implement. rliChe main frame l2 includes a pair of ground engaging wheels le and i3 each journalled for rotation about an axis extending transversely of the main frame Il?) and through the rear end of a crank arm fill whose forward end portion is pivotally secured to the lmain frame als at Z2. An operating shaft Z4 is journalled for rotation from the main frame l2 and about an axis extending transversely of the main frame by means of journal supports y26 and 28. A pair of crank arms 3? and 32 are secured to the operating sha-ft 241, and each has a connecting link 354 pivotally connected between the free ends of the crank arms Sil and 32 and the corresponding crank arms 2li?. An operating lever 36 is also secured to the operating shaft 2liand projects radially outwardly therefrom. The free end of the operating lever 36 has one end of an extensible motor generally referred toi by the reference numeral 38 pivotaily secured thereto as at dll and the other end of the extensible motor 3S `is pivotally secured to the main frame il?, as at d2. ln this manner, operation of the extensible motor 3S will cause the main 3 t frame l2 to be raised or lowered relative to the ground engaging wheels le and 1S.

A sub-frame generally referred to by the reference nulrneral and including a. pair of longitudinally extending side frame members i5 is pivotally .secured to the main frame l2 for movement about a generally horizontally disposed transversely extending axis in a manner which will hereinafter be more fully set forth. The rear ends of the side frame Imembers are interconnected by means of a rear transverse frame member 4d having rigid upstanding brackets 47 to which the side members 26 are pivotally secured by means or" pivot fasteners 49 and a pl-urality of depending supports dit and 52 depend from and are iixedly secured to the transverse frame member 48. y An elongated and transversely extending weeder rod '54- is journalled -for rotation about an axis extending transversely of the cultivatorltll and through the lower end of the depending supports 5t? and 52 by means of ,bearing assemblies generally referred to -by the reference numerals 56 and 5? respectively. While the supports Sil may be of `either tubular construction or solid, the support 52 is of tubular construction and includes a pair of transversely spaced bearings, (not shown) which rotatably journal the weeder rod 54. Each of the supports d@ is provided with a Ibearing opening d@ at its lower end and a pair of retaining plates e2 are secured to opposite sides of each of the lower end portions of the support Stil in order to retain a bearing da within the bearing opening 6l). The bearings de also rotatably journal the wceder rod 54 and the retaining plates 52 are also designed to prevent the entrance of foreign material into the bearing 64.

The weeder rod E4 has a driven wheel de secured thereto between the pair of bearings (not shown) carried by the lower end of the support 52 and a transverse shaft 68 is 4journaled for rotation about an axis extending transversely of the subeframe by means of journals 7d and '72. The transverse shaft 63 has a drive wheel "/"fl-` secured thereto in aligrnnent with the driven wheel 66 and an endless iiexible member 7d is entrained over the drive and driven wheels 74 and 66. lt will be noted that the axes of rotation of the side members (i6 donned by the pivot Lfasteners 49 coincide with the `axis of rotation of the shaft A drive shaft 7S is also journalled for rotation about an axis extending transversely fof the sub-frame 41d by means of a pair of journals Si? carried by the forward ends of the side frame members de. The opposite ends of the drive shaft 78 have a pair of friction wheels 82 secured thereto and a first sprocket wheel 4- is carried by the drive shaft 73 and is aligned with a second sprocket wheel 85 carried by the transverse shaft 6d. An endless .flexible member S3 is entrained over the first and second sprocket wheels @d and 86 thereby drivingly connects the weeder rod 5d with the friction wheels 32.

lt will be noted that the main fra-me l2 has a plurality of spring tine-toothed cultivators 9G secured thereto which depend from the main frame :l2 and are adapted for engagement with the ground 9i at their lower ends.

With attention now directed to FIGURES 2 and 5 of the drawings it will be seen that the main frame l2 includes a pair of pivotal supports 912 which are secured to the main frame l2 by means `of clamp assemblies 94, see also FIGURE 4. Each of the side frame members de is generally L-shaped in cross section and includes an upper horizontal flange 96 and an upstanding lower flange The pivot supports L2 are each apertured as at lili) and the upper horizontal flanges gd are each apertured as at M2. An Lshaped support including a vertical ange lilo and a horizontal flange lltd has its forward end secured between each of the pivotal supports 92 and the corresponding side frame member id Each of the vertical iianges litio is apertured as at liti and each of the horizontal flanges MBS is apertured as at i112. A pivot fastener Elfi is secured through each pair of aligned apertures ltlil and il@ and a threaded fastener lid is secured l througheach pair of aligned apertures and i12. The threaded fastener lid has anp enlarged yhead portion ll engaged with the undersurface of the ilange lili'. and an elongated shank l2@ whose end remote from the head portion HS is externally threaded as at lZZ and has a nut i24- engaged therewith. A compression spring i326 encircles the shank i246) and is disposed between the correspending flange 96 and the associated nut T124. In this manner, each of the side frame members `456 is pivotally secured to the main frame l2 and yet is mounted for movement vertically along shank l2@` of `fastener lid relative to the axis of rotation of the sub-frame deilned by the pivot fasteners M4. The rear ends of the supports lil@ `are rigidly secured to the rear transverse frame member 4S in any convenient manner.

Accordingly, it may be seen that the compression springs 12d yielda'oly urge the friction wheels 82 into driving engagement with the ground engaging wheels 'ld and 1S after the main frame l2 has been lowered for bringing the wheels 32 into engagement with wheels 316 and le* while simultaneously urging the weeder rod forwardly and downwardly into engagement with the ground 9i. Further, since the frame members i6 carrying the wheels 82 are mounted for limited vertical movement relative to pivot fastener' lid, the supports lltll, the rear transverse frame members 4d, the depending supports and 52 which are all rigid with each other, as well as the weeder rod S4 may be kicked rearwardly and upwardly about pivot fasteners i114 as springs i126 are compressed which would occur if the supports d and 52 or the weeder rod 54 strikes a buried object such as a rock without disengaging the wheels 32 from engagement with the wheels lo and 1,8 and without appreciably increasing the frictional engagement of the wheels S2 with the wheels ld and 123.

The main frame `f2 also has a rearwardly extending support arm 12S secured thereto at its forward end in any convenient manner such as by welding and the rear end of the support arm 128 is provided with an enlarged opening i3@ which loosely and slidably receives the threaded shank portion i3?? of `an abutment stop shaft i3d which is secured to the support 52 in any convenient manner such as by brace i155.

A tine point 14h* is adjustably secured to each of the supports Si? and S2 by means of suitable fasteners 142, see FIGURES 4 and 7. In addition, it will be noted that each of the friction wheels 82 includes a ratchet assembly generally referred to by the reference numeral les whereby the drive shaft 78 is driven by the friction wheel 32 which is rotating at the highest speed.

to raise and lower the main frame l2 relative to the ground engaging wheels i6 and it in order to lower the tines 9i) into the ground 9i. rfhen, the nuts lit and ist? threadedly engaged with the threaded shanl; portion l32 may be adjusted in order to limit downward movement' of the rear end of the sub-frame 44. The nut 1212 may' then be adjusted to increase or decrease the tensionof the compression spring 126 in order to afford the desired thrust to `urge the weeder rod 5e forwardly and downJ wardly and the lfriction wheels S2 into engagement with the vground engaging wheels 16 and i8. if any depending portion `of the rod weeder should strike a large object such as a rock, the lower ends of the supports 'dit and 52 will be pivoted rearwardly and upwardly free of the obstruction without disrupting the `frictional drive established between the ground engaging wheels f6 and lg and the weeder rod 54 and `also without disrupting operation of the tines Sti.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the: principles of the invention. lFurther, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to thosef skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and de# Nil,

' 5 equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a draft type cultivator of the type including a mainframe having a plurality of ground engaging wheels movably mounted on said frame for adjustably vertically positioning said main frame relative to the ground surface and a plurality of depending soil working implements adapted to work the ground over which said cultivator is being pulled, a rod weeder attachment comprising a lweeder rod, means mounting said rod from said :main frame for rotation about a generally horizontal disposed axis extending transversely of said main frame and for swinging movement between a first rearward upper position and a second downward forward position, said mounting means including means normally resiliently urging said weeder rod toward said second position, adjustable limit means supported from said main frame and engageable with said mounting means for limiting movement of said weeder rod toward said second position, and friction drive means supported from said mounting means and drivingly connected to said weeder rod and frictionally engaged with at least one of said ground engaging wheels, said urging .means also being operatively connected to said drive means and normally resiliently urging said drive means into driving engagement with at least said one ground engaging wheel.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein -said mounting means comprises a generally horizontally disposed subframe pivotally secured to said main frame for movement about an axis extending transversely of said main frame and spaced between the forward and rear ends of said sub-frame, said weeder rod being supported from one end portion of said sub-frame and said drive means being supported from the other end of said sub-frame.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said mounting means includes a side frame member Ipivotally attached to the sub-frame, said frame member carrying said drive means and engaged -by said urging means for retaining the drive means engaged with the ground engaging lwheel.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the rear end of said sub-frame includes a plurality of depending supports, said weeder rod being journalled for rotation from the lower ends of at least two of said supports, one of said two supports comprising a tubular member, a driven wheel secured to said vweeder rod and disposed in said tubular member, a transverse shaft journalled from the rear of said sub-frame for rotation about a horizontally disposed axis -entending transversely of said tubular member and including a drive wheel aligned with said driven wheel, and an endless flexible member entrained over said drive and driven wheels, said drive means including means operable for drivingly connecting at least said one ground engaging wheel -with said transverse shaft.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said last mentioned means includes a drive shaft journalled from and for rotation about 'a generally horizontally disposed axis rextending transversely of the forward end portion of said side frame member yand including a first sprocket wheel aligned with a second sprocket wheel carried by said transverse shaft, an endless flexible member entrained over said first and second sprocket Wheels, said drive means including a drive shaft having a friction wheel mounted thereon aligned with and frictionally engaged with said one ground engaging fwheel.

6. The combination of cl-airn 4 wherein said drive means includes a drive shaft having =a pair of friction wheels movable into and out of frictional engagement with two o-f said ground engaging wheels.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,071,493 Woodrom Aug. 26, 19113 1,854,909J Johansen Apr. A19', 1932 2,614,475 `Mowbray Oct. 21, 1952 2,892,504 Mowbray June 30, -1959 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A DRAFT TYPE CULTIVATOR OF THE TYPE INCLUDING A MAIN FRAME HAVING A PLURALITY OF GROUND ENGAGING WHEELS MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME FOR ADJUSTABLY VERTICALLY POSITIONING SAID MAIN FRAME RELATIVE TO THE GROUND SURFACE AND A PLURALITY OF DEPENDING SOIL WORKING IMPLEMENTS ADAPTED TO WORK THE GROUND OVER WHICH SAID CULTIVATOR IS BEING PULLED, A ROD WEEDER ATTACHMENT COMPRISING A WEEDER ROD, MEANS MOUNTING SAID ROD FROM SAID MAIN FRAME FOR ROTATION ABOUT A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL DISPOSED AXIS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID MAIN FRAME AND FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT BETWEEN A FIRST REARWARD UPPER POSITION AND A SECOND DOWNWARD FORWARD POSITION, SAID MOUNTING MEANS INCLUDING MEANS NORMALLY RESILIENTLY URGING SAID WEEDER ROD TOWARD SAID SECOND POSITION, ADJUSTABLE LIMIT MEANS SUPPORTED FROM SAID MAIN FRAME AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID MOUNTING MEANS FOR LIMITING MOVEMENT OF SAID WEEDER ROD TOWARD SAID SECOND POSITION, AND FRICTION DRIVE MEANS SUPPORTED FROM SAID MOUNTING MEANS AND DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO SAID WEEDER ROD AND FRICTIONALLY ENGAGED WITH AT LEAST ONE OF SAID GROUND ENGAGING WHEELS, SAID URGING MEANS ALSO BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID DRIVE MEANS AND NORMALLY RESILIENTLY URGING SAID DRIVE MEANS INTO DRIVING ENGAGEMENT WITH AT LEAST SAID ONE GROUND ENGAGING WHEEL. 